


The Moment Of Will

by camichats



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Gen, The Same Ending: Now Gayer, episode rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-26
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-20 02:02:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9470495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: S01E10: Merlin visits his hometown with his new boyfriend Arthur and meets his old one Will, who's more jealous than Merlin thought he'd be.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RydiaAsuka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RydiaAsuka/gifts).



> I was INCREDIBLY unhappy with how this episode turned out. I actually wrote this as soon as i finished watching it, and i'm slowly working on a happy episode rewrite. 
> 
> (this is a repost from when this work was deleted)

“Why are defending him?” Will said once they were alone. “He doesn’t care about you; he doesn’t  _ know _ you, Merlin.” 

Merlin knew that Will was just jealous and scared, but it still hurt to have the person he trusted most say the same things he’d been worrying about. “He does trust me, if you could see him wh--” 

“Does he know about your magic?” Will snapped, arms crossed in front of him. Merlin didn’t answer, and Will let his arms fall to his sides. “That’s what I thought.” He gave a humourless laugh. “It was bad enough that you left me for Camelot without even bothering to talk to me about it, and it was even worse to have you ride back in on the arm of some royal  _ prince _ , but to stay with someone that would kill you if they knew who you were? How can you love someone like that?” 

Merlin stayed silent. 

“So you do? Love him, I mean.” 

“Will…” 

What was probably supposed to be a sigh but was more aggressive than it should’ve been left him and he turned to fiddle with his bag. “I’m not going to stay here and die for your new lover.” 

* * *

“If you’ve got something to say, now’s the time to say it,” Arthur said, looking at Merlin with a cross between amusement and expectancy. 

Merlin knew that Arthur didn’t understand, frankly he didn’t expect him to. He never thought much of Merlin’s personal experience, but it was probably best that way. It was only because of that that he hadn’t discovered-- or believed, really-- Merlin’s magic and his history of dating. Until now, Merlin hadn’t seen any reason to correct him, but with Will acting so jealous and their odds of winning being so slim… 

Merlin licked his lips and started to say, “Will’s--” 

Morgana rounded the doorway and cut him off unintentionally, telling them that Kanen and his men had crossed the river. 

Sparing a look to Merlin, he left. 

* * *

“Will!” Merlin screamed rushing to his side. This- no, this couldn’t be happening. Not- not to Will he was supposed to be  _ safe _ . Merlin looked down at the bolt where it was lodged in his best friend, his first love, just above his heart. “No. No no no no.” There had to be something,  _ some _ spell that would save him right? 

“You saved my life,” Arthur said, bewildered, all anger in his face from moments before vanished. 

“Yeah, don’t know what I was thinking,” he joked between gasping for air. 

Merlin wasn’t thinking as he heard Arthur shout and he remembered moving but the next time his mind felt clear they were inside, Will laid on a table taking the blame for Merlin’s magic use during the battle. 

“Will, don’t.” Merlin was the cause of his heartbreak, him getting shot, he couldn’t let him do this too. He was so focused on Will that he didn’t notice the betrayed look Arthur gave him. He flinched when Will joked about Arthur killing him. How could this be happening? Merlin had thought that everything was going so well and this definitely didn’t fall in line with that. Will wasn’t dying, he couldn’t be dying, he couldn’t be. 

Arthur said something to Merlin, but he didn’t hear him through his panic and guilt. He noticed him leaving, taking Mum, Morgana, and Gwen with him. 

Good, now he could-- a tear splashed on Will and he chuckled as if it was the most precious thing Merlin’s ever done. Merlin wiped at his eyes hastily. 

“I was right about him; I told you he was going to get me killed.” 

“You’re not going to die,” Merlin said and he was surprised at how steady his voice was. 

Will laughed again. He said some rot about Merlin going on to be a great man alongside a great king but a decent man wouldn’t have let this happen to his best friend. He’d saved Gaius from falling to his death the day he met him but he was too incompetent to save Will? They’d known each other their entire lives and yet he couldn’t muster a reflexive slowing of time. 

“This place has been boring without you,” Will said, and Merlin took it as the ‘I love you’ it really meant,  _ had _ meant for years but would never mean again. “Good to see you again.” 

Merlin nodded, giving a watery smile. “You too.” 

Later, Merlin stumbled from the house, eyes wide and somehow dry, unseeing. Will’s last word had been his name and he didn’t know how to deal with that. 

At his funeral pyre, Arthur asked him if Will’s sorcery was what he had been about to say as they were getting ready earlier. 

He told him yes. 


End file.
